Joined
by RDorothyW
Summary: After a forced separation, Hikaru asks his brother a hypothetical question. [Implied HikaruXKaoru]


Title: Joined

Word Count: 770

* * *

It was very rarely that either of the Hitachiin twins were reprimanded by an adult for their latest mischief. They were both masters of evading detection and avoiding punishment. However, there was that occasional occasion when they were bound to get caught. It may not happen often, but it _did _happen. This was one of those times.

Kaoru was waiting outside the principal's door in a row of empty chairs. Ouran, being what it was, didn't have much of a record of misbehavior among students, so the outer office was always devoid of the waiting miscreants you might see in other schools.

The younger Hitachiin was somewhat irritated. Getting in trouble, by itself, wasn't really so bad-- it was a hazard that came with the job, so to speak. But for some reason, the principal had decided to give them their talking-tos separately instead of together as he usually would. Not only would they now be late for host club because of the extended visit, but being separated for any length of time had the effect of severely dampening their moods. Especially in a tense situation with an angry adult.

"You may leave now, Hitachiin-san," the secretary said somewhat timidly. It was a wonder she dared to invade Kaoru's grand sulk. (Although the younger twin probably didn't even realize that his current expression could peel wallpaper. They both knew that separation equals bad, but Hikaru and Kaoru tended to be somewhat oblivious when it came to the _degree_ of their dependency on one another.)

"I'll wait, thanks," Kaoru replied. Being the more level-headed of the two, he realized that it wasn't her fault, so he at least had the decency to force a smile in her direction as he spoke. It was true that Kaoru had already taken his turn talking to the principal. If he were to leave then he could explain to the host club that Hikaru would be late, but Kaoru knew that his brother would be even sulkier than he after being separated for so long-- almost twenty minutes! Hopefully Kaoru would be able to help Hikaru salvage his mood before they got to the host club.

Finally, the door to the principal's office opened and the elder twin emerged. It was clear right away that he'd spent the entire time pretending to listen to the lecture, counting down the seconds when he would be free.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru ran to his twin, automatically grabbing his hand and entwining their fingers.

"We're free to go?" Kaoru asked with a soft smile, instantly relieved. His brother really was predictable some times.

"Yeah, he said we can go." The two left the office hand-in-hand and began the long walk to the third music room. They were already late, so they made no effort to hurry.

"Do you ever wish we were conjoined twins?" Hikaru asked suddenly. According to the slight hunch in his shoulders, he was still a little upset. Kaoru laughed.

"I mean, we'd never be separated," Hikaru clarified.

"And we'd be freaks," Kaoru added.

"So? We were 'freaks' in middle school. And it's not like we care what other people think," Hikaru pointed out. Kaoru shrugged.

"I suppose it would have its advantages. We wouldn't have to bother telling the school we want the same classes year after year; they'd assign it automatically."

"The guidance counselor would never give us that crap about finding different career paths."

"We'd never be put into separate groups to work on projects, and we'd always sit together in class." Kaoru smiled at the thought, but then paused. "But, Hikaru, what about the host club? I don't think we could pull off our act as conjoined twins. I doubt we would have even been invited to join at all."

"That's true," Hikaru sighed. Kaoru stopped walking, so Hikaru automatically stopped, too. He looked around the empty hallway, confused as to why they'd stopped when the music room was further ahead.

"It would also make it very awkward to do this." Kaoru leaned in and gave his twin a quick kiss on the mouth.

Hikaru grinned, fire in his eyes. Before Kaoru could react, Hikaru swept him off his feet and was carrying him like a damsel in distress towards the door to the third music room, no doubt concocting a heart-wrenching tale of Kaoru injuring himself and Hikaru gallantly flying to the rescue. Not only would the girls squeal, but it would also explain their tardiness. Kaoru didn't struggle, but fell into the role, laying his head on his brother's shoulder and clutching Hikaru's uniform in his hands.

Kaoru was glad they weren't conjoined.

* * *

This story turned out completely different from how I meant to write it. It was going to be something more like this:

Hikaru: If we were conjoined, I'm sure we could still kiss.

Kaoru: Probably.

Hikaru: I'm glad that we aren't, though, because the sex would be horrible.

That was the punch-line. "The sex would be horrible." I just couldn't use it, though... I think sex ruins romance. Oh well.


End file.
